Pages

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

In Character: Don Cheadle

Of all the Don Cheadle performances I’ve seen (and there
have been many) I cannot recall him giving a bad performance. He’s been in some
crap films, sure, but he always brings it,
no matter what.

Rarely changing his appearance or voice inflection, Cheadle
has an uncanny ability to not only make every character its own, but to
captivate you within mere minutes. He’s one of the best we have right now.
Period. Here are a few reasons why.

Five Six Essential Roles

Devil in a Blue Dress
(1995)

Mouse

Don Cheadle is a lot of things, but rarely is he a
homicidal, trigger-happy lunatic doing whatever he can to make a buck. Many
regard Mouse as Cheadle’s finest role, and that is for damn good reason. Still
relatively new to films, Cheadle (quite literally) bursts onto the scene, going
toe-to-toe with Denzel Washington in this superb crime noir throwback. Mouse is
the kind of guy who’d rather shoot than talk. He could spend several agonizing minutes verbally persuading you to
tell him what he wants to know, or he could
just shoot you dead and move on to the next guy.

There is a constant unease about Mouse, which is exactly what
makes this performance as effective as it is.

Boogie Nights
(1997)

Buck Swope

“I have this very unit in my home. But of course I got it
modified with the TK-421, which kicks it up another… I dunno, maybe, three or
four um…quads per channel. But that’s really technical talk, that doesn’t
really concern you.”

And so we get Buck Swope, yet another perfect addition to
the cast of colorful characters Paul Thomas Anderson assembles in his porn pop
masterpiece. Whether he’s talking about the evil forces of magic with John C.
Reilly, begging for a legitimate loan from a spineless banker, or eyeing a big,
bloody bag of cash, everything about Cheadle’s work here is flawlessly in tuned
to Anderson’s vision. I should also mention how amusing it is to constantly see
Buck trying out new styles as the years pass in the film. It’s so satisfying
that he ends with the best possible look for him.

“All you need to do is walk over, get down, and come inside
us. Word.”

Traffic (2000)

Montel Gordon

I’d love to focus on just one particular scene of Cheadle’s
work in Steven Soderbergh’s masterpiece, as a means of highlighting his
brilliance. But which one? Maybe the way he so expertly plays his DEA agent
undercover, “We gonna move some weight here, or…?” Or his volatile reaction to
witnessing the murder of his brother in blue. It’s a damn tough call, but for
my money, Cheadle is never better in Traffic
than the moment he accepts his life and its possible insignificance.

Minutes before dealer Eduardo Ruiz (played captivatingly by
Miguel Ferrer, an actor who deserves a post in this column) is set to testify
against his boss, he gets into an argument with Montel in a hotel room. In a
few short sentences, Ruiz belittles Montel’s entire career, and his worth as a
man. Normally, Montel would scream and shout and run over Ruiz with threats of
punishment, but he can’t this time. He knows that part of what Ruiz is saying
is absolutely true, and it is devastating to watch.

But in the end, Montel has the last laugh. Running and
laughing. He’ll get ‘em.

Hotel Rwanda
(2004)

Paul Rusesabagina

As Rwandan genocide worsens around him, Paul Rusesabagina’s only
initial concern is keeping him and his family safe. But, much like Oskar
Schindler, the desire and ability to save those around him takes precedence,
and he soon turns his hotel into a covert refuge.

Hotel Rwanda is
based on a true story and although I’ve never done research to see how closely
Terry George’s film mirrors the real life events and people it depicts, there’s
no arguing that Cheadle’s work here is a flawless incarnation of a man in
peril. Most every single conversation Cheadle has in the film is part of an
extended scam to help save lives. His lies have lies, and, at one point, it becomes
impossible to distinguish who he’s told what.

There’s a moment in this film in which Paul tries once,
twice, however many times, to tie his necktie. His frustration mounts and he
breaks down, crying and pleading to no one. The scene adds nothing to anything,
but everything to the whole thing. A faultless performance.

Talk to Me (2007)

Petey Greene

“Wake up, goddamnit!”

As the lacerating, real life radio personality who gave a
voice to people who didn’t have one (at a time when they needed one most),
Cheadle is utterly spellbinding in Talk
to Me.

Petey is a flamboyant, alcoholic asshole who’s willing to do
whatever it takes to make good on a hustle. A street thug trying to cut it in
the big time, Petey’s (many) outrageous antics are wondrously amusing, but the
beauty of this performance is in the downfall. Take, for instance, the scene in
which Petey bombs disastrously on The
Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Petey, completely out of his element,
fucks up his live act, but Just. Keeps. Going. before letting out a pathetic,
“Sorry, Johnny,” and exiting stage left. Heartbreaking.

Flight (2012)

Hugh Lang

I had Cheadle’s five essential roles ready to rock, but
having recently seen his work in Robert Zemeckis’ fantastic Flight, I simply couldn’t exclude it
from this list.

Hugh Lang isn’t nearly as dominating or forceful a character
as some of the others on this list, but he is wholly commanding nonetheless. As
a criminal lawyer trying to navigate a dirty man through muddy water, Cheadle
plays Hugh as a guy whose sole motivation is to win. There’s a great scene in
which Hugh nonchalantly remarks that Denzel Washington’s character will be tried
for four manslaughters, because the two stewardess on board “don’t count.” He
gently back pedals, but the song remains the same.

Don’t get me wrong, Hugh isn’t a snake, but his client
certainly is. The only real way to stay alive among predators is to become one
yourself. That’s Hugh. Calmly sitting back in his chair, reminding a
billionaire yuppie that, “My clients don’t go to jail.” Keep on keepin’ on.

The Best of the Best

Manic (2001)

Dr. David Monroe

I try to sing Manic’s
praises whenever I have the opportunity. The film is a criminally ignored drama
about a group of misfit teenagers going through the motions at a juvenile
psychiatric ward. But these kids aren’t locked up for smoking a little weed.
They’ve beaten, abused, sexually assaulted – you name it. And it is Dr. David
Monroe’s job to not only keep order, but rehabilitate as well.

Most everyone who has seen Manic agrees that its raw style is immediately jarring. The film
was shot with consumer grade digital cameras and is handled shakily at best.
It’s a technique that’s off-putting for some (if not most), but at its heart, Manic is as fine a drama documenting
misspent adolescent youth as I’ve seen. And I mean that.

While Joseph Gordon-Levitt also gives the role of his career
here, it’s Cheadle that we are utterly mesmerized by. There’s a scene in which
a fight breaks out during a group meeting (the kind where everyone sits in a
circle and talks about their problems), and instead of establishing calm order,
Monroe fucking loses it. He screams, throws chairs, gets in faces – he breaks
protocol every which way, but he also gets their attention. They stop and look
and think. For the first time in a long time, these troubled kids reflect.
That’s partly because they’re watching one of the best actors in the game
flexing the best work he can. Sure enough.

Manic is a great role for Cheadle, and a very underrated piece of work that not many people have seen, and definitely should. As for Cheadle himself, the guy is great but I really want to know where his career is going. He's good in everything he does, but he rarely ever gets the real chance to head-line a movie anymore and I just wish that he would try and comeback to leading movies again, because the guy can knock it out of the park when he wants. He just hasn't been in much as of late. Great post buddy, as always.

So glad to hear your kind words about Manic, that movie deserves a much wider audience. Goddamn shame.

You know what, that's a really fair point you brought up: where exactly is his career going? He deserves another role as big and marketed as his Hotel Rwanda performance. He man deserves Oscar gold, no doubt.

When you saw "Flight", did you kind of see Cheadle's character as a more legal eagle version of Mouse? Like he was kind of swooping in there at just right the moments to try and help out Denzel? That kept popping up in my mind. Wanted to work into my review but couldn't make it feel like it wasn't forced. I just wanted to point it out.

When you see those six roles lined up right in a row...man, that's something. What a versatile guy. And "Manic"! Never heard of it! I'm on the case! Thank you!

I actually didn't think that at all, but that's an interesting point. Do you think you are, in part, making the correlation because they're played by the same actors? That may seem obvious, but I dunno.

Oh man, DEFINITELY check out Manic if you can. I don't know if you have Netflix, but it's there ready to be streamed.

LOVE him as Basher in the Oceans series, and apparently Ewan McGregor, who is one of my most favourite actors ever, was originally considered for it, and I still would prefer Cheadle. That's how awesome Don Cheadle is.

"So unless we intend to do this job in Reno, we're in barney.""Barney Rubble.""Trouble!"

I'm a great fan of Cheadle. Back in April he played golf here in New Zealand for the Pro-Ams, which I went to see with my father as we do every year. He played terribly but incredibly got a hole-in-one on the 16th. Not sure how this anecdote is relevant, but there you go.

Oh, I loved Manic. Having worked as a therapist with troubled youth -- and just as a movie viewer -- it felt very real. I'm surprised I haven't heard more people talking about it. So far, aside from my daughter and me, you and Josh are the only people I know who've seen it.

Just watched and reviewed Traffic last week. Cheadle knocked it out of the ballpark there. Adding these other essential roles to my list. Alex, you are single-handedly driving my watch list out of control. :-D

Damn, I am a fan of Cheadle but I have only seen three of the films you highlighted. I'm going to try to catch Flight before it leaves theaters, and I need to find a way to see Manic, too. Good stuff, man!